In the resource exploration and recovery industry, various valves are employed to control fluid flow. Safety valves, for example, are employed to prevent formation fluids from exiting a wellhead uncontrolled. A safety valve may take the form of a flapper valve. Flapper valves including opening and closing mechanisms. For example, a flapper valve may be opened by axially shifting a tubular or flow sleeve. The flow sleeve may contact and pass through a flapper thereby opening the valve. When an activating force is removed, e.g., the flow sleeve is withdrawn, a biasing system causes the flapper to return to a closed configuration.
Flapper valves typically are lengthy given the need to house the opening and closing mechanisms. Limitations on placement of the flapper valve are driven by valve length. The longer the valve, the more difficult to locate in certain portions of a downhole system leading to greater installation costs. Additionally, the longer valve contributes more frequent maintenance leading to higher operational costs. Accordingly, the art would appreciate a valve assembly having an operating mechanism that may take up less room thereby leading to a shorter housing length.